My label removing soap box...

They start falling off in the store half the time.

 

I can't believe all of the Troegs love in this thread... those are my absolute nemesis.

Lagunitas, Bells, Sam Adams, and Abita are all great

 

I agree with the ones mentioned, Sierra Nevada, DFH, Sam Adams. Flying Dog are the worst. I just pitch em any time I get them any more. Wine bottles are a pain in the ass to get off too.

 

New Belgium and SN have always been the easiest for me to remove. FFF bombers are the best as well. Toppling Goliath are absolute shit (only the glue!!!! the label art and nectar inside are heavenly). I just found a case of bombers that all have shitty hard labels still on. Forgot I left myself that mess.

 

If you're in Massachusetts and looking for 22's Wormtown uses stickers that peel off and leave no residue.

 

For those who leave your labels on, just a heads up, don't enter them to a BJCP comp that way. If it makes it past the receiving location and the stewards into the hands of the judge, it will automatically impact your scores in a negative way. Oxiclean is a great crud remover on the inside and gives the secondary advantage of label removing on the outside. Labels on the outside will lead the judge to think the inside was not cleaned properly and that the beer is infected. Had one hit our table and another judge called it, he was right too.

 

That is interesting. Out of idle curiosity, is it okay to use a bottle that is identifiably from a particular brewery (e.g. Orval)?

 

Yes. I have entered with Deschutes, Widmer, New Belgium, and Odells, each of which have some sort of branding on them. Had a Red Hook stub bottle hit the table last month during a comp judging. If it is label free we will assume that you didn't simply clean the outside whilst leaving the inside full of gunk. You at least did a good soak which should break up anything in the bottle as well as remove the label if an easy one. Orval bottles though would also be dependant on the judge. If the particular judge believes that there is absolutely no way to rid Brett from any surface once it has infected the beer contained therein (poppy-****) then he will automatically assume that your Orval bottle is contaminated and will be searching for signs of infection.

 

In an especially small or pedantic comp you also run the risk of being disqualified for having an "identifiable" bottle, judging is supposed to be anonymous. I've never actually heard of someone being DQ'd for using an embossed/brewery specific bottle though.

 

Having stewarded for World Cup a few times, it is kinda funny how recognizable some people's bottles are. There are a few club members that I can usually pick out of a lineup. Barley wine in an anchor bottle? Specific overrun cap barely obscured with sharpie? Corked 375 with the cork driven below flush? Belgian dark strong with a visible scoobie in the bottle?

 

I also have gotten into the habit of leaving the labels on. I still have some label-less ones from before my laziness but mostly I'll just sharpie out the brand name so I know its homebrew.

 

Are you soaking the Three Floyds bottles to remove the label, and doesn't the water create a cloudy finish on the label?

On another note, I had success today with removing the label from a Pliny bottle and a Blind Pig. Both were very difficult, to say the least. I used the microwave method. Usually when I need to use the microwave the label is vinyl and can take some tugging once the glue is warmed after only 30-50 seconds. The Pliny and Blind Pig bottles took 90 seconds of heating, and were tough to get started at a corner, and if I was not careful the paper label tore easily. You need to have long fingernails, a towel to insulate your hand from the hot glass, and a piece of paper on which to stick the label once it's off. Some glue stays on the bottle, but a good layer of it also comes off with the label.

 

Jack's Abby and Maine Beer Co. are pretty easy. More of a sticker than a label with glue. Plus they are the cool 16.9oz bottles.

 

August Schell labels come off easily and cleanly. I just gave ten cases to a buddy from college who's just starting out in the homebrewing madness.

 

Easiest way to remove labels that i have found, fill a 6 gallon bucket with 5 gallon water. Add 5 tablespoon of b-brite. Put bottles into solution. wait 2+ hrs. labels will float off, even from most of the offenders listed prior. YMMV

 

I quit buying dark horse beers because they ruin my pbw water. The labels don't come off... they dissolve.

 

My people call it a half liter.

 

Indeed, I've also given up on Flying Dog labels, which is a shame because they represent half the beer I buy.

 

Do the majority of people remove labels? Surely I can't be the only one who doesn't bother?
I just mark the caps. Besides it's fun pouring a pink beer out of a BCBS bottle:

 

I haven't brewed in ages but my method for labels wash pretty simple , I fill a kiddie wading pool with water and add a couple tablespoons of powdered dish washer soap . Toss in bottles and let them sit in the sun all day. 90-95 % of the labels are floating when I go back out after supper , the ones that don't come off get donated to the trash man for the nickel deposit.